Shitou mountain

Shitou mountain is located at the junction of Sanwan Township, Nanzhuang Township and Emei Township in Miaoli. The elevation of its main peak is 492 meters. It crouches in the southwest of Shitou mountain. The mountains are towering green and the scenery is natural. It is named because it looks like a lion's head. In 1990, Shitou mountain, Lishan Mountain and Bagua mountain were planned as Shenshan national scenic spots by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of communications. Shitou mountain is a famous Buddhist holy land in the whole province. In the early years, it was one of the twelve scenic spots in Taiwan, and it is the two most famous Buddhist holy places in Taiwan with Foguang mountain in the south. Shitou mountain is full of strange rocks, green trees, and steep boulders. Therefore, in 1892 of the Qing Dynasty, Qiu PuJie, a Taoyuan businessman, set up a temple to worship Buddha in Shiyan cave, Later, there were more than temples along the mountain, which became the Buddhist holy land of the island, such as Kaishan temple, Haihui temple, Lingxia cave, Jingang temple, Wanfo temple and so on. From the entrance to shuilian cave of Shitou mountain, there are sparse trees and many temples. In this quiet and solemn Buddhist holy land, listening to the evening drum and the morning bell and looking at the mountain haze, it seems that you are out of the world and adding spirit The elegant charm of the mountain.

Shitou mountain

Shitou mountain is a tourist attraction in Taiwan. Shitou mountain is located at the junction of Sanwan Township, Nanzhuang Township and Emei Township in Miaoli. The elevation of its main peak is 492 meters. It crouches in the southwest of Shitou mountain. The mountains are towering green and the scenery is natural. It is named because it looks like a lion's head. In 2001, Shitou mountain, Lishan Mountain and Bagua mountain were planned as "Shenshan national scenic spot" by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of communications.

brief introduction

Shitou mountain is located at the junction of Miaoli County and Hsinchu County, with an altitude of 493 meters. Looking out from a distance at the rolling mountains, it looks like a lion standing on the ground with its head held high. The trees and bamboo forests on the mountain are high and low, covering the mountains, just like the curls on the body of a lion. There are many natural caves in the mountains. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, monks and Taoists came here one after another to build temples by using caves. Now, there are 18 temples on the mountain, big and small, with morning bell and evening drum. It has become a place of pilgrimage.

From the moral gate between Kaishan temple and Quanhua hall, you can reach the moon Pavilion, the highest point of the whole mountain, through a long and steep stone step. Sitting in the pavilion is sitting on the border of Miaoli and Hsinchu counties. You can enjoy the unique scenery of "lion head" in all seasons and on moonlit nights. From the moon pavilion to the southwest, you can visit all the "Lion" temples. The quiet Ten Thousand Buddhas' nunnery, the King Kong Temple with gurgling springs, the Lingxia cave with Hakka architectural style, the Haihui nunnery with four Tianwang halls in imitation of the mainland, and the fanyin Temple (water curtain cave), a large-scale Tiancheng cave, are all places that visitors must visit. Shitoushan Buddhist temple is well built. The temples are reflected among the green mountains and trees, and the scenery of the Buddha Mountain reflects each other, which casts a mysterious color on shitoushan

Looking from the south of Miaoli Town, but walking into the mountain, there is a big rock near the mountain gate, about 13 meters high, like a sitting lion squatting there, holding his head high, two claws in front, guarding the mountain pass, so it is called "shitouyan". From shitouyan to the mountain, there are "raoyi yuan" (nunnery), Chaosheng pagoda, Guanyin waterfall, Qingjing bridge, etc. all the way back to Ziyang gate, the big mountain gate of shitouzhu temple. After ziyangmen, there are three famous temples adjacent to each other: Futian temple, Kaishan temple and Quanhua hall. The Futian palace was built in 1915. The temple is dedicated to Tibetan Bodhisattvas and the gods in charge of hell. On the wall, there is a picture of "eighteen floors of hell", which is gloomy and terrifying.

In the main hall of Kaishan temple, there is a golden three treasures Buddha about 3 meters high. In the middle of the hall, there is a Sakyamuni Buddha. It is 1 meter high and carved in pure jade. It is said that it was transported from Rangoon, Myanmar in the 1920s. There is a complete set of Japanese engraved Tripitaka in the temple, which is a very precious cultural relic. Quanhua hall is the largest temple here. It is built on the mountain. The main hall is located in the mountainside and has three floors. The most prominent is the magnificent "Yuqing Palace", in which the hall is dedicated to Guan Gong; the left is Dacheng hall, dedicated to Confucius; the right is Leiyin hall, dedicated to Guanyin Bodhisattva. It is said that there are three temples under the jurisdiction of Quanhua hall. Yuqing palace symbolizes heaven, Kaishan Temple symbolizes the Buddha Kingdom, and Futian palace symbolizes hell. It is a Trinity and constitutes the main tourist area of Shitou mountain.

The origin of naming

Shitoushan, located in the southwest of Taipei basin, is called shitoushan because it looks like a crouching lion. Shitou mountain, a tourist attraction in Taiwan, is located at the junction of Sanwan Township, Nanzhuang Township and Emei Township in Miaoli. Its main peak is 492 meters high. It crouches in the southwest of Shitou mountain. The mountains are lush and beautiful. It is named for its resemblance to Shitou. In 2001, Shitou mountain, Lishan Mountain and Bagua mountain were planned as "Shenshan national scenic spot" by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of communications.

historical origin

Near Shitou mountain, there is a sulfur Cave City, which was built by immigrants to fight against the aborigines. Shitoushan used to be the base of the Anti Japanese volunteers such as Zhan fan. During the Anti Japanese period, the Japanese attacked many times. When the Japanese attacked, the volunteers retreated to the Aboriginal communities such as Da Bao and Jia Jiu'An.

According to the history of the temple, before the Japanese led the temple, Qiu PuJie, a Taoyuan dakegu man, came to Nanzhuang. Seeing that Shitou mountain was a beautiful place, he lived in seclusion in a cave between the mountains and built Shiyan cave Kaiyuan Temple, the oldest temple in Shitou mountain. At the beginning of the creation of Quanhua hall, it was planned to build three holy Temples: Heaven, hell and the West. After the completion of Quanhua hall, which represents heaven, the auxiliary heaven palace of Tibetan king Bodhisattva and the Kaishan temple, which respects the three saints of the west, were built one after another, laying a foundation for the Buddhism of Shitou mountain.

There are many temples in shitoushan, such as Haihui temple, Lingxia cave, Jingang temple, and relic cave. Most of the temples are built according to natural caves. The gods they believe in have developed from Buddha and Bodhisattva to the animism of Taoist deities, Confucian saints, and even the great tree god. It can be described as the epitome of religion in Taiwan.

Shitou mountain has long been the representative of Taiwan's Buddhist resorts since its founding. With the development of the times, Shitou mountain has become more and more ancient. Thanks to the subtle influence of religion, in addition to the artificial color of the main temple, the surrounding ancient trees and forests are still intact; the traffic between lion's head and lion's tail relies on an ancient stone road paved with bluestones, connecting the temples. With the rise and fall of the mountains, the trail is full of ancient trees, and the open place has a comfortable vision and excellent prospect. The shade of the forest is also covered with stone lampholders and mottled mosses, which are reminiscent of the ancient. It is not only a path for Buddhist enlightenment, but also a popular route for hiking.

Shitou mountain has a well preserved forest, which provides a space for all kinds of animals and plants to inhabit and forage. The ancient road is also like an intellectual natural trail. Birds are the most active natural resources in Shitou mountain. More than 70 bird species have been recorded, about half of which are endemic or subspecies. The Miaoli bird Association set up a self guided interpretation board near Quanhua hall to introduce these mountain elves in simple terms. Other people, such as red bellied squirrels and Taiwan macaques, are also one of the aborigines of Shitou mountain.

Buddhist resort

Shitou mountain, a tourist attraction in Taiwan, is a famous Buddhist holy land in the whole province. In the early years, it was one of the twelve scenic spots in Taiwan, and it is the two most famous Buddhist holy places in Taiwan with Foguang mountain in the south. Shitou mountain is full of strange rocks, green trees, and steep boulders. Therefore, in 1892, Qiu PuJie, a businessman in Taoyuan, was indifferent to fame and wealth in his later years Later, more than a few temples were built along the mountain, which became the holy land of Buddhism on the island. For example, Kaishan temple, which contains the daily Tibetan scriptures, Haihui temple, Lingxia cave, Jingang temple, Wanfo temple and so on. From the entrance to shuilian cave, Shitou mountain is surrounded by sparse trees and many temples. In this quiet and solemn Buddhist holy land, listening to the evening drum and the morning bell and looking at the clear flow of the mountains, you feel as if you are in the world In addition, Yitian Lingshan's elegant charm.

scenic spot

Quanhua hall, Yuanguang Temple

Shitou mountain

"Quanhua hall" and "Yuanguang Temple" are also known as the Kaishan ancestral temple in Shitou mountain. They are temples that use the doctrines of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism to guide all living beings and purify the soul. The buildings are built close to the mountain, with great momentum. Quanhua hall is a large-scale temple with the richest products and the largest appearance on Shitou mountain. On the upper floor of the hall is the main hall, in the middle is Yuqing palace, dedicated to Guan Gong. On the left is Dacheng hall, dedicated to Confucius. On the right is Leiyin hall, dedicated to Guanyin Bodhisattva. On the lower two floors are the places for monks' nunnery and tourists' pilgrims. Yuanguang temple, also known as Shiyan cave, was built in 1895. It is the oldest Buddhist temple in Shitou mountain. The atmosphere is solemn, the decoration is simple, and the environment is quiet. In the hall, three precious Buddhas are worshipped, and eighteen Arhats are on the side.

Moon watching Pavilion

The moon watching Pavilion stands on the top of Shitou mountain, 496 meters above sea level, just at the junction of Hsinchu and Miaoli counties. The breathless pilgrims gather here for a rest, surrounded by tall and thick acacia trees. The breeze blows away their tiredness. The open place can look down at the valleys and mountains around Nanzhuang and zhonggangxi. After the moon watching Pavilion, the trail leads to the solemn and quiet meditation holy land of lion's tail, which is quite different from the magnificent palace of lion's head. It gives people a peaceful feeling.

Kaishan Temple

Shitou mountain

Kaishan temple is an isolated cliff. It is a natural cave built by the mountain. It is the pure land in the west among the three holy temples. The temple worships three Western sages, whose statues are carved from local camphor wood by famous craftsmen in Tangshan. They also worship the venerable Ananda, Maitreya Buddha, Bodhisattva of dizang king, Bodhisattva of Dharma, Manjusri, Guanyin and Puxian, almost all of them. There is a Japanese version of the three Tibetan scriptures in the temple, which is the earliest version of the three Tibetan scriptures in Taiwan. It is very precious. The natural rocks in the rear of the temple gush out a clear and sweet spring, which is said to cure diseases and strengthen the body. It is called great sorrow

Chinese PinYin : Shi Tou Shan